“The fact is that by the power of God I translated The Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world; in which wonderful event I stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries…” (Joseph Smith to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843.)
By 1805 the Second Great Awakening was well on the way to transforming American Christianity. Into this world came Joseph Smith, Jr. He was born into a struggling farm in Vermont. His family of modest means moved frequently during Joseph’s early childhood. In 1811 they settled in the town of Palmyra, New York. The family struggled financially, spiritually, and socially. These circumstances would come to form one of the most significant American religious figures.
Palmyra was not a particularly large or noteworthy town but it was home to Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian congregations. The town was in a period of religious revival and all denominations were competing for converts. Joseph reflected in his writings that the fervor he saw in these revivals played a significant role in his spiritual development. Of notable interest to him was the diversity of doctrines among the various denominations.
As a youth Joseph was curious about religion and listened to what the various teachers had to say. He was greatly distressed by denominations claiming theirs was the only path to salvation. In this confusion he sought clarity. In his teenage years he experienced what he called an “awakening” and felt a “great and abominable” sense of confusion as he struggled to find peace.
According to Joseph’s words, in the spring of 1820 at the age of 14, he went into the woods to pray for guidance concerning which denomination was true. This moment is known as the First Vision. Outside of the alleged discovery of The Book of Mormon this is perhaps the most significant event in Latter-Day Saint History. Smith claimed that, while praying, he was visited by two divine figures: God the Father and Jesus Christ. In his narrative, Joseph described how the two figures instructed him not to join any of the existing denominations, for they were all corrupt and had strayed from the true gospel.
This vision serves as the foundation for many of his later theological claims. Here we find the genesis of Joseph’s restorationist movement. Joseph claimed that after this first vision he felt a deep sense of spiritual authority and responsibility to proclaim the truths revealed to him. He kept this vision secret for some time.
From this initial experience Joseph claimed to be visited by the angel Moroni. He claimed this angel informed him he was chosen to translate an ancient book, an account of ancient America, buried in a hill in Palmyra.
After some struggles Joseph claimed to have at last unearthed what he described as a book of metallic plates containing the lost history of an ancient American civilization. Joseph claimed these plates were written in a language called “Reformed Egyptian.” He further claimed he had been given divine power to translate them. Inside the area containing the alleged book were tools he called the “Urim and Thummim” which were, at least in the earliest accounts, used to translate the book. The translation process began in 1827. The translation was completed in 1829. The plates would become better known as “The Book of Mormon.”
Many, both contemporary with Joseph and today, have questioned the authenticity of The Book of Mormon and the method by which Smith purportedly translated it. Skeptics have pointed to the lack of tangible evidence for the existence of the gold plates and criticized the book’s complex narrative structure and theological claims. However, believers in the Latter-day Saint faith regard The Book of Mormon as divinely inspired, and it remains one of the foundational texts of their religion.
Nevertheless, Joseph was now preaching that a new scripture had been revealed. It was time to bring it to the masses, for in these pages was the fullness of the gospel and Joseph was the prophet raised up to restore the visible church.
In 1829 Joseph and his close friend and believer Oliver Cowdery claimed to have been visited by John the Baptist. Here they were allegedly given the keys to the Aaronic Priesthood and thus the authority to baptize. While it could be argued The Book or Mormon reflects Joseph’s latent Methodism, in the visit of John the Baptist it was clear the Mormons were deviating openly from mainstream Christianity.
Next the two were visited by Peter, James, and John, who granted unto them the Melchizedek Priesthood. With these keys they were now able to offer up higher and, heretofore, unrevealed ordinances.
In 1830 the Church of Christ (later renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, among other names) was organized in Fayette, New York. The church would swiftly attract a multitude of converts entrenched in the revivalism of the time and hungry for something new. The teachings further expanded from here.
Colorful characters like Sidney Rigdon, Raccoon John Smith, Porter Rockwell, and Brigham Young would appear. Soon the new converts, now coined colloquially as “Mormons,” had communities in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri, among other places.
In later articles we will detail just what happened to this nascent movement. This movement has had greater reach than any other of the new religious movements of the Second Great awakening. In fact, it is the most likely to ring your doorbell.
From the beginning of the church in 1830 we find ourselves traveling to Ohio and suffering with the Latter-day Saints in the midst of a banking collapse. We will see extermination orders for Mormons enacted by a sitting governor. We will follow wagon trails down into Missouri and Illinois. We will stand outside the Carthage jail as the Prophet of Palmyra meets his death. From there it is on to the great plains of the West and into the Salt Lake Valley where a juggernaut will take on not only the established churches but also federal troops and American settlers.
This is perhaps the most fascinating story in American religious history and one with far reaching consequences for religious freedom, pluralism, and even the setting of territorial boundaries.
N.B. This article is meant as a brief historical sketch of the early life of Joseph Smith. The scope of this article cannot adequately discuss apologetics, contradictions, or detailed history concerning the veracity of Joseph Smith’s purported visions nor of the composition of The Book of Mormon. For a detailed history from a Lutheran perspective see https://wordfitly.podbean.com/e/episode-45-the-early-life-of-joseph-smith/
